Chapter 344: Huantiansi's Contractor
When the sun rose, the forbidden swamp was covered with white mist as usual.
But today is different from the past.
The quiet swamp suddenly cracked open, revealing a narrow and clean passage.
Merlin, dressed in a dark blue robe and holding a long staff, slowly stepped out. He casually tapped the ground with his staff, and as he walked forward, the clean and soft ground automatically raised steps one by one.
Only after Merlin had completely left the swamp did the swamp, which had been moving to the sides like a living thing, close up again. The makeshift steps also lost their shape and collapsed into a mass of mud.
"...That guy Jacob is really going to cause me trouble."
Merlin sighed and reached out to push up his monocle.
But having said that, he didn't look unhappy at all, as if he was being bothered. Instead, he looked very energetic and full of interest.
He had already come through the fairy kingdom yesterday and arrived at Jacob's workshop.
Just as he expected, Jacob placed his ritual workshop at the bottom of the swamp.
To be more precise, it's between the bottom of the swamp and the fairy kingdom. It exists neither in the fairy kingdom nor in the material world... but inside the fairy cave.
Of course, this place was not discovered by Jacob.
Because this "secret room" was carved out by Merlin.
This kind of large-scale ritual, once created, would continue to operate for hundreds of years. If placed in the material world, not to mention the possibility of corrosion and weathering, no matter how strictly guarded, it would certainly be discovered, destroyed, or tampered with.
The reason why it was not placed in the Fairy Kingdom was because Merlin knew the fairies' personalities too well.
They are full of curiosity and have a kind of confidence that says, "I don't know anything, but I want to give it a try." If they discover a ritual, they will inevitably modify it.
So Merlin secretly opened a mezzanine in the fairy cave and stuffed the array base in it.
If fairies wanted to go to the material world, they would definitely go straight through the door. Not many people would look down at the keyhole before entering.
Only humans who try to reach the Fairy Cave from here can discover its existence by looking carefully when passing through the portal.
Then we just need to keep humans out and no one will discover this ceremony.
So Merlin specially created a swamp and buried the goblin's cave.
It was originally just a deep pit. One of those dark, bottomless pits—a normal person would likely fall to their death if they jumped in. And if they rashly used earth-attributed spells while falling, they would land directly in the fairy kingdom.
And since this purely material swamp couldn't stop the goblins anyway. Neither water nor mud could wet the goblins' bodies, the goblins wouldn't realize anything was wrong. Naturally, they wouldn't report the cave's problems to the queen.
To prevent passersby from accidentally falling in, Merlin simply made this place a swamp. This way, no one would stumble and fall. This also prevented people from being enchanted by the fairy cave and unknowingly walking near the entrance and falling in.
But the swamp at that time was just an ordinary swamp.
Jacob had obviously found the village by following the fairy barrier, but he felt strange that he couldn't find the fairy cave. So he finally found the swamp and successfully used magic to open the door of the fairy cave.
But unlike other humans, Jacob was the idler who would suddenly stop halfway through the door to study the lock.
So it was only natural that he discovered the secret room left by Merlin and the ritual of the Shadow of Avalon inside it.
What happened next was very simple.
Jacob had always been in contact with Vivian, and he had apparently learned the nature of the ritual from her, and had attempted to modify it, even transforming the ordinary swamp left by Merlin into a special material for making swampmen.
Anyway, this workshop is very spacious and can hide many ritual formations. Anyone who wants to disrupt this ritual will not be able to find it from outside. At most, they will rush into the fairy cave while searching.
After all, the information he had obtained before was second-hand - whether it was Aiwass or James, what they told him was vague after all.
After seeing the formation base with his own eyes and studying it carefully, Merlin finally understood the effect of this ritual:
Although this ritual is very immature, it can actually pull Ying Tiansi down directly.
Why does it do this?
Because this ritual also contains the power of the Heavenly God and even the power of the Pillar God.
The purpose of this ritual is not just to pull down Shadow Tiansi. It is to pull her into the material world, give her a real body, bind her with the power of balance, and then seal her in the body and kill her in the material world... in order to usurp her Tiansi fragment.
There is no doubt that this is a ritual belonging to the path of transcendence.
"——This is definitely not a prank by that woman Vivian."
Merlin unfortunately realized this problem.
Because when he realized this problem, it meant that he was involved in a conspiracy at the Tiansi level.
But Merlin was not afraid.
He just thought it was all very interesting—
He missed it last time, but this time he can finally catch up with the fun.
The one who powers this ritual is the Son of the Snake Father, the Ouroboros... the Chief Celestial Official, revered as the Ring Celestial Official. He is the Celestial Official second only to the Snake Father in the Transcendent Path, and the second most powerful being in the entire Transcendent Path.
The Huan Tianshi possesses the power of reincarnation, rebirth, and reaching infinity. The essence of this ritual isn't to forcibly bring down the Tianshi... but rather to allow the Tianshi to advance even further in his reincarnation. This is precisely why it's so difficult to resist.
——Merlin certainly knew about this ritual.
In ancient times, there was a legendary human warrior who, through a bloody ritual of dragon slaying, usurped the body of a dragon and ascended to the realm of dreams. He eventually became the Crowned Celestial Master in the dream world, rising from the weakest to the strongest, constantly surpassing his predecessors and becoming increasingly powerful until he reached the position of Celestial Master of the Path of Power.
When he got here, Mian Tiansi encountered a difficult problem.
He could no longer grow stronger. He had already concentrated all the Dao Power he could obtain in the Dream Realm, and at this moment, there was still a considerable gap between him and the Supreme Heaven. He needed to re-enter the material world and once again gain additional Dao Power through "action."
However, unlike the apostles who can interfere with the material world, it is basically impossible for the Tianshi who have obtained authority to reenter the material world... However, Huan Tianshi broke this common sense.
Ouroboros offers a ritual for His friendship called the Ouroboros Ring.
Having reached the limit of his power, Mian Tiansi successfully transformed into a mortal. He dispersed his excess power and created the Knights of the Round Table—these Knights grew stronger through Mian Tiansi's dispersed power. Ultimately, they followed Arthur and accomplished the transcendental feat of defeating the giant kingdom with their mortal bodies.
Only then could He contend with the Most High and prevail, becoming the new Lord of the Way, the Silver Crowned Dragon.
Like an Ouroboros, it devours itself and is reborn.
Devouring all of oneself and achieving a complete rebirth is essentially a form of "shedding the skin and being reborn." Transforming oneself into a stronger form makes it possible to surpass oneself again.
——Whether it was the ceremony he used to usurp the dragon's body, or the ceremony he used to descend into the world again, they were all provided by this Huantiansi.
Even in the earliest times... when He was not yet the Crowned Celestial Master and had not yet defeated the dragon, he was still the Contractor of the Ringed Celestial Master.
Merlin remembered Arthur telling him stories about that time.
It seemed to be an extraordinary profession related to the concept of "shedding skin." This was also the fundamental basis for Mian Tiansi's ability to transform back into a human body and become stronger again.
But the Shadow Heavenly Master and the Crown Heavenly Master are different.
Ying Tiansi does not have the affinity to transcend the Dao, and she does not want to replace Hengwo.
If the Queen of the Shadow Kingdom were to be transported into the male body of Lancelot I, imprisoned and prevented from returning... that mad woman would surely go mad. The gods of the Path of Love are far crazier than the transcendents of the Path of Love.
However, as far as Merlin knew, there was no conflict between Huan Tiansi and Ying Tiansi. Not only that, they didn't even have much contact.
So this is definitely not a personal vendetta.
——Then there is only one possibility to activate this ancient ritual again.
"Huan Tiansi, do you want to... take it a step further?"
Merlin raised his head and looked at the sky.
His eyes were deep, and he murmured softly, "Jacob...are you with Him? Are you also His Contractor?"
So, what is Aiwass's role in your plan?
A pawn, a helper, a collaborator, an heir...
...Or, some kind of obstacle?
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
